A co -production with a string of prestigious media companies' attached to it, Peter & The Wolf is set to grace Irish TV screens on RTÉ 1 on Christmas day 2023 at 12.55pm.

In association with DK, HBO Max & BMG, award-winning artist Gavin Friday has created a modern retelling of the Prokofiev classic Peter & The Wolf  with visuals based on none other than U2's Bono's own original illustrations.

The new project is a retelling of Peter & The Wolf  which will include a soundtrack, a film and a book, with funds from each going to the Irish Hospice foundation.

The original reinterpretation of Prokofiev’s score was recorded by Gavin Friday & the Friday Seezer Ensemble in 2003 to accompany the original book & CD release. A brand new narration was recorded by Friday for the film

The brand new animated film will have its Irish premier on TV over Christmas and an accompanying book, original soundtrack, have been released on BMG.

Childhood friends Gavin Friday and Bono put their interpretation together as a fundraiser for the Irish Hospice Foundation. Friday wrote the text, provided the narration and, with collaborator Maurice Seezer, rearranged the score, which he had first performed with musicians from the Royal Academy Of Music.

Bono, with help from his daughters, provided the artwork. His father had passed away not long before so the palliative care the Hospice Foundation provide was fresh in his mind. The book was a huge success and when the drawings were auctioned off, the Hospice’s coffers received another substantial boost.

Bono said of the new production: Gavin's retelling of the classic Peter and the Wolf story is as original as he is...sometimes a story like this can sneak into your heart and never leave. To see some of my illustrations evolve in this reimagining is a thrill".

Peter & The Wolf is scheduled for a Christmas Day broadcast on RTE1 at 12.55pm. The special is produced by award winning animation studio Blink Industries, and transforms Sergei Prokofiev’s much-loved symphony into an enchanting and contemporary visual masterpiece that touches on themes of growing up, loss, courage, transformation, and our relationship with nature.